Introduction: Pentecostal Perspectives on Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Restoration by Martin William Mittelstadt and Geoffrey W. Sutton
Although there are different fellowships, we have in common a belief that the Spirit of Christ manifest so powerfully in the lives of the apostles continues to work in the lives of contemporary followers of Jesus. In this volume, we have focused specifically on forgiveness and reconciliation. Some authors focus more on forgiveness whilst others seek to understand reconciliation. All seek to understand how God’s Spirit is at work to maintain and restore relationships within faith communities as well as between groups of people from different faith and religious traditions.
Pentecostals and the Gospel of Peace: Spirit and Reconciliation in Luke-Acts by Martin Mittelstadt
Martin Mittelstadt takes readers to Luke-Acts. He challenges Christians to read the Lukan story not only as a template for evangelism or its emphasis on Spirit baptism, but also as a rich resource for a theology of reconciliation. Mittelstadt also suggests Christians read Luke-Acts not primarily as a gospel story focusing upon individual conversions, but as the gospel of peace, a story of reconciliation between individuals and peoples with a history of conflict and division
Pentecostals, Postmodernism, and The Shack by Robert Berg
Robert Berg offers a poignant analysis of William Young’s controversial best seller, The Shack. Berg provides a short synopsis of the story and then addresses several of the theological and practical concerns of critics. In the end, Berg finds in The Shack a consummate testimony to forgiveness. Readers will find in this story a basis for common celebration and experience of a loving God who walks people through periods of bitterness and anger to God and others.
Art Imitates Life: Literary and Life Lessons about Death and Forgiveness by Marilyn Quigley and Diane Awbrey
Marilyn Quigley and Diane Awbrey analyze the problem of unforgiveness illustrated by Katherine Anne Porter in a short story, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. In a touching self-disclosure, Quigley juxtaposes her path to forgiving with that of Granny Weatherall. Quigley’s story is an eloquent example of a personal testimony of God’s Spirit at work. The authors also provide a Pentecostal lens on forgiveness when they analyze Quigley’s spiritual battle to forgive in the context of comforting her dying mother-in-law. Whereas Berg offers critical theological commentary on the nature and value of testimony via a bestseller, Quigley and Awbrey get personal; they share a living testimony of the struggle toward forgiveness.
The Azusa Street Revival and Racial Reconciliation: An Afro-Pentecostal Perspective by Renea Brathwaite
Renea Brathwaite takes readers back to the early years of North American Pentecostalism. Brathwaite rehearses the success and failure of the racially integrated Azusa Street Revival and its aftermath. Though Pentecostals made early inroads toward racial reconciliation, they fell prey to a world not yet ready for integration. Brathwaite calls upon contemporary Pentecostals to enlarge their theological vision and demonstrate a gospel with characteristics of forgiveness and embrace.
I’m Sorry, My Brother: A Reconciliation Journey by Lois Olena
Lois Olena follows with the griping story of African-American Pentecostal preacher Robert Harrison. Harrison displays tremendous grace as he embarks on a long journey toward credentialing in the Assemblies of God. Both Brathwaite and Olena chart Assemblies of God struggles with societal norms and interpretation of Scripture and call upon Pentecostals to learn from their past and lead the way in embodiment of integrated communities of faith.
From Forbidden Fire to a Different Spirit: A Pentecostal Approach to Interfaith Forgiveness and Reconciliation by Tony Richie
Tony Richie takes a slightly different approach and addresses the responsibilities before Pentecostals in the context of interreligious dialogue. He suggests such dialogue must begin with serious conversations on past failures and conflict, lead to forgiveness, and then reconciliation in order to focus upon common objectives for the betterment of humankind.
The Psychology of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Restoration: Integrating Traditional and Pentecostal Theological Perspectives with Psychology by Geoffrey W. Sutton
In the Psychology of Forgiveness, Geoffrey Sutton begins the section on scientific perspectives. He discusses forgiveness in the context of reconciliation and restoration, by providing an overview of psychological research, which includes not only opinions about these ideas but also experimental findings on effective strategies for helping people forgive. Fitting with our overarching goal, Sutton examines these motifs from a Pentecostal perspective, while looking at the sad tale of a pastor who confesses sexual sin to a shocked congregation.
Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: A Pentecostal Perspective by Johan Mostert and Mervin van der Spuy
Johan Mostert and Mervin van der Spuy, both formerly of South Africa, recount the gripping drama of terror at the dawn of the post-apartheid era. In Truth and Reconciliation: A South African Perspective, they recount their attempt to grapple with powerful forces of change as leaders in their respective Pentecostal communities. Their personal struggles and honesty prove riveting as they tell of their amazing journey through the South African story.
Public Acts of Forgiveness: What Happens when Canadian Churches and Governments Seek Forgiveness for Social Sins of the Past? by Michael Wilkinson
Canadian Sociologist Michael Wilkinson concludes the section with analysis of the burgeoning public apologies and requests for forgiveness of the last few decades. Wilkinson offers a sociological view of forgiveness and reconciliation in his review of requests for forgiveness expressed by Canadian government and religious leaders toward descendents of those victimized by harmful policies and procedures from centuries past. In addition to exploring a theoretical perspective, Wilkinson illustrates Christian and Pentecostal responses to the particular offense toward First Nations people who suffered within the Canadian residential school system.
Learning Forgiveness and Reconciliation: A Model of Education for Peace in Rwanda by Patrick Mureithi and Jeff Hittenberger
Nearly one million people were massacred during the 1994 Rwandan intertribal melee. Jeffrey Hittenberger and Patrick Mureithi examine the results of an education program to teach forgiveness and reconciliation to Tutsis and Hutus, two peoples with a long and dark history of conflict on the Rwandan landscape. Hittenberger and Mureithi examined the components of an educational model in view of psychological research and consider how Pentecostals might contribute to education for forgiveness and reconciliation.
A View of Contemporary Pentecostal Visions of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Peace, and Restoration by Everett L. Worthington, Jr.
Ev Worthington provides an epilogue, which offers a perspective on the book from a Christian who not only conducts scientific studies and writes about forgiveness and reconciliation but also experienced the deep inner struggle of forgiving the man who murdered his mother. A quote from his analysis follows.
Throughout the book, these contemporary Pentecostal perspectives draw on individual experiential and expressive Pentecostal doctrine and experience. But for the most part, they are prophets calling the church to a place that isn’t as often identified as Pentecostal—social and societal justice. Of course, this social and societal justice is a large part of Pentecostal or any Christian church’s doctrine. The fact is, though, that different churches emphasize it less often than other churches.